Activision to Publish Only Five Vivendi Titles

In a move likely to raise eyebrows, Activision's main publishing arm said it was dropping all but five of Vivendi's games, leaving the fate of several key titles uncertain.

Activion Publishing said the only Vivendi Games franchising coming under its purview are Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Ice Age, Prototype, and one unannounced game.

Therefore, titles such as Ghostbusters, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, World at Conflict: Soviet Assault, 50 Cent Blood on the Sand, Zombie Wranglers, and Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust are up in the air.

While Activision Blizzard also owns other publishing venues, none of them laid claim to publishing the orphaned titles.

In a perhaps related development, a panel on the Ghostbusters title scheduled for Comic-Con International last week was canceled without explanation, even though a playable version of the game was on display.

Source: Gamespot.com

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I am really surprised about the Ghostbusters fate. I can't believe with all the press it has been getting (OXM, G4, E3 and more) and the voice and writing talents behind this one, that Activision didn't retain this. This one almost seems like a no-brainer to me.

My eye brows are also a bit raised on Prototype and World at Conflict, moreso the former.

I loved World in Conflict!

Awesome story, gameplay and replayability. Why oh why Activision!!! I am becoming more in love with EA everyday that passes!

Ice Age? What the hell?

Out of all the titles they could have "dropped" they didn't drop the Ice Age game....what? If Activision is afraid that the games they dropped would make them money, then what makes them think that "Ice Age" will?

I gotta wonder, why the hell did Activision buy Vivendi if all they are going to publish is their shitty licensed products... wouldn't it have been cheaper just to acquire those lisences for themselves?

Personally I blame Nintendo for opening up the casual game market, though the five the announced are the limited appeal games that kept videogames from being successful before... I'm really confused.

I thought World in Conflict was a rather succesfull game, it was quite excelent atleast, so I am suprised to se it go. This article didn't mention Brutal Legend, heard anything special about it?

Ghostbusters!?! WTF! That was getting some major heat. It take it over Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Ice Age combined. The kiddies can love Ghostbusters too.

...I just thought of something chilling.

This might be an excuse for companies to bag themselves some sweet exclusives. This means that I might actually have to pay for a 360 to get Brutal Legend. On the other hand....

Yeah...I can't see Brutal Legend or Ghostbusters laying around in limbo for too long. But if the studio is cheaper than the licenses, that explains an awful lot about the general crappiness of movie based games.

Vivendi has 3 companies working for them afaik. Activision, Sierra ad Blizzard. Activision is dropping popular games so i would assume that the others will pick them up. A "Blizzard Entertainment" logo is guaranteed to sell a few million extra copies.

On DoubleFines blog it is stated that the game is still fine.

They better fucking release World in Conflict Soviet Assualt, I'll hunt them down and use a rusty spork to relieve them of their eyeballs otherwise.

I heard on a site that Sierra said that they aren't dropping ghostbusters. I'm not sure about bruta legend. (Man, I really want brutal legend)